Ironing machine



1936- c. A. PICKENS 2,050,502

IRON ING MACHINE 7 Filed April 10, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 wade/4. @2259;

Aug. 11, 1936. 0 A. PICKENS 2,050,502

IRONING MACHINE Filed April 10, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 00m A. 92%;; 3 A /;f;%

Fatenteci Aug. 11, 1936 Mia-imp STAT PATENT G'FFICE 13 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved ironing machine and one object of theinvention is to provide a-machine including-a standard carrying a board and having an iron associated with the board and controlled by hydraulic means which will not only regulate pressure applied by the iron but also control movements thereof during an ironing operation and thus permit any desired pressure to be applied and the iron very easily moved; v 7

Another object of the invention-is to provide a device of this character wherein the iron holding and operating means is practically entirely enclosed'in a standard or housing where it"will' be shielded and-protected from damage.

l-ln'ot'herobject of the'inventionis to provide a housing which not only servesvery effectively as'a housing for enclosing the operatingv mechanism but'also will constitute a substantial support for an ironing boardand; have sufiicient weight to prevent any dangerof the apparatus turning over when in use. I V A Another object of the invention is to provide an" apparatus of this character wherein the hy' draulic means for controlling- -movement'of an iron 'toward' and away froma board and along a board may be independently controlled through the medium of valves actuated from-rasingle pedal and thereby permit thedevice to be very easily operated by foot action and leave the hands free for moving a garment to'bepressed into its proper position upon the board and also allow the hands to be employed forguiding the lI'OIl.

Themvnno-n is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein i a Figure l is a-view showingthe improved ironing machine in side elevation.

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Figure 3 is a sectional view-takenvertically through the ironing machine.=

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 44 of Figure 3. I

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view of the hydraulic means for'controllingfmovements of the iron. I

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line-66- of Figure 3,

Figure '7 is afragmentary view of themechanism for controlling movement of the-iron to- Ward andaway from the ironingboardi" V Figure 8 is an enlarged view ofthetreadle and mounting thereof.

This improved ironing machine includes a standard or pedestal I which may be referred to as a vertically disposed casing. The pedestal has an enlarged base 2 whichis of suflicient dimensions to causethe pedestal to be firmly supported in an upright position and at its upper 57 end the pedestalis formed With a head 3 which is smaller in dimensions than the base but is elongated substantially parallel to the base, as shown in Figure 2. A bracket l'is secured to the pedestal at the front thereof and extends forwardly and then upwardly, as shown clearly in Figures 1- and 3 and by referring to Figures 3 and 4 it will be seen that at its uper end the bracket is formed with a socket, 5 to receive the stub r shaft or shank 6 of the ironing board I. A side opening 8 is formed at the front of the socket 5 to receive a pin 9 carried by the shank 5' and, therefore,;while the ironing board may be turned with theshank Gas a pivot, its turning movement will be limited by the pin 9 contacting with the socket at sides of the opening 8.

Within the head 3 of the standard there is disposed a tube H] of strong metal which'may be referred to as 'a track and upon referring to Figure 3 it will be seen that this tube extends 5 longitudinally in thehead and at its ends is supported in mountings II and i2, Aprod or shaft l3 extends longitudinally in the tube and carries discs I4 which are eccentric to the rod or shaft and are rotatable with the shaft. It will thus beseen that when rotarymotion is imparted to the shaft and discs, the shaft ,will be shifted vertically of the standard in the tube and the extent to which; a hanger l5 extends downwardly through a slot it formed longitudinally of the tube will be regulated. The hanger is slidable along the shaft l3 and to this hanger is attached an arm I! which may be; referred to as an iron carrier and projects outwardly from the standard through a slot lS formed vertically of the stand 40 ard at thefront thereof above the bracket 4. At its'forward end, the arm extends downwardly and is hinged or pivotally'mounted to a bracket l9 which is connected with'the iron 2lljby'a pin 2| constituting a pivotabout which the ironxmay be turned as a vertical axis and it will'-thus"be seen that theiron may have rocking movement" longitudinally of the arm I! and also turned about the pin 2| as an axis and guided in its movementsupon the ironing board Therefore, when a garment or other article to be pressed is applied to the board and the iron moveddownwardly into operative engagement with the garment, the handle 22 of the iron may be graspedand the iron guided similar to'the manner in which a flat iron is used. This iron is to be electrically heated and is provided with a terminal 23 to which the terminal 24 of a conductor 25 is detachably connected. The conductor 25 extends along the arm l! to the back of the standard and may be connected with any suitable source of current supply. By this arrangement the terminal 24 may be readily detached and prevent overheating of the iron.

The arm I! is to be shifted longitudinally for reciprocating motion upon the ironing board and, therefore, its rear or inner end is pivotally mounted through the medium of a shaft 26 which projects from opposite sides of the arm and is engaged in bearings formed at lower ends of plates 2! which are connected by cross pins 28 and form a carriage, indicated in general by the numeral 29. This carriage is disposed about the tube l5 and upon the cross pins 28 are mounted rollers 36 which bear against upper and lower portions of the tube and not only permit the carriage to slide easily along the tube as a track, but also serve to retain the carriage in its proper position relative to the track. A rocker bar or lever 3|, which extends upwardly in the standard, is pivotally mounted upon a shaft 32 journaled transversely in the standard and at its upper end this lever is formed with forks 33 which straddle the arm I! and the carriage and are formed with longitudinally extending slots 34 in which end portions of the shaft 26 are engaged. Rollers may be provided about ends of the shaft 26 in order to permit the shaft and rocker arm or lever to move easily relative to each other. It will be readily understood that when rocking motion is imparted to the lever, the carriage will be shifted longitudinally upon the track or tube In and the arm I1 and iron reciprocated longitudinally of the ironing board. It will, therefore, only be necessary for the operator to direct the movement of the iron by grasping the handle 22 and turning the iron about its pivot 2| and thus cause the iron to move in the proper direction across a garment to be pressed.

Vertical adjustment of the iron and reciproeating movement thereof is controlled by the mechanism shown in Figure 3 and also in Figures 5 through 8. Referring to these figures it will be seen that a pair of cylinders 35 and 36 are mounted vertically in the standard or casing with the rods 3? and 38 of their pistons 39 and 40 extending upwardly from the cylinders. The piston rod 31 is loosely connected with the lower end of a rod or elongated link 4| which extends upwardly through the standard and has its upper end attached to a crank arm 42 carried by and extending radially from the rear end of the shaft l3. When the piston is moved upwardly to rotate the shaft l3, its eccentric relation to the discs M will cause the shaft |3 to be shifted downwardly in the tube I0 and, therefore, the arm I? and the iron will be lowered to bring the iron into contact with the ironing board. The extent of movement imparted to the piston will regulate downward movement of the arm I l and iron and, therefore, the pressure exerted by the iron may be controlled. Downward movement of the piston rod and link 4| will rotate the shaft |3 in the opposite direction and the arm H and iron will be elevated and the iron moved out of engagement with the ironing board. The piston rod 38 has'its upper end pivotally mounted between the forks 43 at the lower end of the rocker arm or lever 3| by a pin 44 which is received in slots 45 formed longitudinally in the arms or forks 43 and it will be readily seen that when the piston 49 is moved downwardly to exert pull upon the forks 43, the rocker arm 3| will be swung forwardly and move the iron toward the forward end of the ironing board, whereas when the piston is shifted upwardly in its cylinder, the rocker arm or lever will be swung rearwardly and the iron moved toward the rear end of the ironing board. Therefore, a reciprocating motion may be imparted to the iron without the operator personally exerting physical force upon the iron.

The pistons 39 and 40 are to be moved by hydraulic force. In order to do so, there has been provided a pump 46 mounted in a sump or oil container 41 and connected with an electric motor 48 mounted upon the bottom of the standard or pedestal, as shown in Figure 3. A pipe 49 extends upwardly from the pump through the top of the oil container and at its upper end is provided with a cross head 50 which communicates with 9 the casings of the two valves 5| and 52. Pipes 53 and 54 lead from the casing of the valve 5| to upper and lower ends of the cylinder 35 and corresponding pipes 55 and 56 lead from the casing of the valve 52 to upper and lower ends of the 0 or oil container 47. Valve blocks 50 and El are rotatably mounted in the casings of the valves and formed with arcuate passages 62, 63, 64, and 65. From an inspection of Figure 5 it will be seen that with the valve blocks set in the position shown, oil forced upwardly through the pipe 49 will flow through the passages 69 and 64 and pipes 53 and 55 into the upper ends of the cylinders 35 and 36 to force the pistons downwardly. During this movement, oil in the cylinders below the pistons will be forced through the pipes 54 and 56 and passages 63 and 65 into the pipes 51 and 58 to the pipe 59 and into the oil container. By turning the valve blocks to move their passages to the positions indicated by dotted lines in Figure 5, the direction in which the oil flows will be reversed and the oil will enter the lower ends of the cylinders to move the pistons upwardly and oil in the cylinders above the pistons will be returned to the oil container. By turning the valve blocks to positions in which their passages will be out of registry with the pipes, flow of oil will be cut off. It will thus be seen that flow of oil may be individually regulated and, therefore, the iron may be moved downwardly to a position in which it will engage the ironing board or an article placed thereon until the desired pressure will be exerted and the valve 5| then shut 01f after which the valve 52 may be adjusted to control directional movement of the piston 46 and reciprocating movement imparted to the iron. This movement may be the full stroke of the piston or short strokes.

The two valves are to be actuated by one foot of the operator and in order to do so there has been provided a treadle 66 which is pivoted to a plunger 6! slidably mounted in a cup 63 which extends vertically in the forward portion of the base 2 of the pedestal. A spring 69 resiliently supports the plunger 61 and, therefore, the treadle 66 and plunger will remain in the elevated position shown in Figures 3 and 8 until sufficient pressure is exerted upon the treadle to overcome the action of the spring. A rocker bar 79 which extends longitudinally in the base 2 is pivotally mounted, as shown at H, and extends through a sesame slot 12 formed in l the base with its outer "end pivoted to the'plunger'fil by the pin TZ whiCh piVGtally connects the t readle with the upper endof theplunger. The-inner end of therocken bar is pivoted to a' link 13- extending upwardly in the pedestal and" connected to the crank arr'n i l of the valve "H- and" by referring to Fig-lire 3{ it will be readily seenthat by pressing uponthetreadle to depress the plunger 61, the block of the valve 5-! may be moved to an adjusted position and when pressure is releasedto allow the plunger to return to its elevated position, the block ofthis valve will be returned to the original position-.- The crank arm- 15 ofthevalve 52' is engaged by a link 16- extending vertically in the pedestal-and having its lower end pivoted to' a link 1*1 extends outwardly through the slot 12 and at its outer end is' rigidly engaged with the treadle 66. By rocking the treadle toward the pedestal to move the link Tl inwardly and swing its inner end downwardly, pull will be exerted upon'the link Hi to adjust the valve 52 and by rocking the treadle in an opposite direction to swing the inner end of the link or rod- 1 1 upwardly, the position of the valve block 6'! may be reversed. It will thus be'seen that by imparting rocking movement to the treadle, the rocker arm 3| will be oscillated and reciprocating'motion imparted to the carriage 29, arm I! and iron. The speedat which the valve is adjusted will regulate reciprocation of the arm l1 and the iron and control extent to which the iron travels. Therefore, short rapid strokes may be imparted to the iron or longer strokes at .a slower rate of speed. Provision has alsobeen provided for automaticadjustment of the valve 52 in case long strokes are'desired. This consists of providing a rod I 8- which is pivoted at its lower end to the, crank'ar'm' 15 and extends upwardly with its upper end pivoted to an arm 79' which is loosely mounted upon the pin or shaft 32 and carries depending lugs 80 and 8 l. The bearing 82 at the lower end of the rocker arm 31 carriesa finger 83 which extends-between the fingers 80 and 8i and it will be readily seen from an inspection of Figure 3 that as'the rocker arm 3| is oscillated its full extent, the finger 83 will be alternately moved into engagement with the fingers 80 and 8| imparting rocking movement to the arm 19 to raise or lower the link lS and adjust the valve 52 to reverse moverilent'of the piston 40. Engagement of the finger 8'3 with one of the fingers 80 or 8| takes place just prior to the rocker arm reaching the limit of its movement in either direction and, therefore, the valve 52 will be adjusted in proper timed relation to movement of the rocker arm. It will thus be seen that reciprocation of the iron may be automatically controlled or manually controlled and that if long strokes of the iron are desired, the valve 5| may be movedto lower the iron to apply desired pressure and the valve 51 then permitted to be automatically adjusted. If short strokes are desired the valve 52 will be manually adjusted by properly rocking the treadle. When it is desired to raise the iron in order to remove a garment or shift it into position to bring anunpressed portion under the iron, the block of th'e'valve 52 will be moved to shut off movement of the piston '40 and the valve 52 then adjusted to raise the iron. By havingthe ironing board pivotally mounted in the socket 5, the board may be turned from the position in which it extendslongitudinallyoi the base andiron to a position diagonally thereof.

It should also be noted that the ironing board has been provided with side'eXtensions"84 which board and connected with the ironto support the i'ramhydraulic means'for impairtingf sliding movement to the arm and thereby reciprocating the irongel iydraulic means for pivoting: the-arm vertiea and therebymovir-rg' the ironrinto and: out of engagement witli the board, and actuating means common to b'o'th hydraulic means.

' anironing maohinetan ironing; board, an overhead track, a carriage slidable along; said track; an arm pivoted to said carriage'fo'r vertical movement, an iron carried by" said arm over board, inean's for' tilting the arm. about the pivot and supporting the arm in a vertically set position and thereby" vertically adjusting the iron relative t6 the board, hydraulic means for reciprocating the; carriage along the-track including-a control valve, hydraulic means for adjusting-the supporting means-including a controlvalve, a'ndoperatiiigmeans for said valves.

3 In an ironing machine, an ironing board, an overhead track, a carriage slidable upon said track, an arm pivotedto said carriage, an iron carried by said arm and disposed over said board, a hanger for supporting the arm and iron in a vertically adjusted position relative to the board, hydraulic means for effecting movement of the carriage and vertical adjustment of the arm including a cylinder and piston for efiecti'ng sliding ironing-board, an iron carried by the said end of said am and being movable relative to the arm,

means for vertically adjusting the position of said hanger to tiltthe arm vertically and move the iron toward and away from} the ironing board having fluid actuated operating means including a control valve, means for shifting said carriage along the track having fluid actuated operating means including a control valve, andmeans for individually adjusting said valves; 7

5. In an ironing machine, an ironing board, an

iron carrier adjustable vertically toward and .away

from the ironing boardand mounted for reciproeating movement horizontally over the board, hydraulic means for effecting vertical adjustment of the carrier including a cylinder and apiston slidable longitudinally therein, hydraulic means for'efiec'ting reciprocation of the carrier including a cylinder and a piston slid'ablelongitudinally th'erein,a fluid pump, conduits for delivering fluid "from said pump to the cylinders and returningthe fluid to th'e pump, valves for independently -con- "tro'lling'flow of fluid from the pump through the cylinders and regulating directional flow of the fluidthrough the individual cylinders for controlfliiig directional. moven'rents or the pistons and thereby'of the carrier, actuating rods operatively connected with said valves, and an operating ele: ment common to the rods ofboth valves.

6. In an ironing machine, a standard, an ironing board mounted in front of said standard, a track extending horizontally in the standard above the ironing board, a carriage slidablealong said track, an armpivoted to said carriage and projecting from the standard over the ironing board, an ironcarried by said arm, a hanger for said arm shiftable longitudinally of the track withthe arm and carriage, means, for shifting the carriage alongsaid track having fluid actuated actuating means, means for adjusting the hanger vertically having fluid actuated actuating means, and means for individuallycontrolling the hydraulic actuating means. l

7. In an ironing machine, a standard, an ironing board in front of said standard, a tubular track extending horizontally in the standard above the ironing board, a shaft extending longitudinally in said track and rotatably mounted by discs eccentric to the shaft, a hanger carried by said shaft and shiftable along the same, a carriage slidable alongsaid track, an iron carrying arm pivoted to said carriage and pivoted to said hanger, said arm projecting from the standard over the ironing board, a rocker arm extending vertically in said standard and pivotally mounted at its lower end, the upper end of the rocker arm being pivotally and slidably connected with the carriage for reciprocating the arm when the rocker arm is moved, a rod extending vertically in said standard and having its upper end connected with said shaft for imparting rotation to the shaft and discs to vertically adjust the shaft and hanger and move the outer end of the arm toward and away from the ironing board, fluid actuated means for operating the rocker arm, fluid actuated means for shifting said rod vertically in the standard, a pump for supplying fluid under pressure to both of the fluid actuated means, valves for controlling flow of fluid to the fluid actuated means and governing directional flow of the fluid, and means for individually adjusting the valves.

8. In an ironing machine, a standard, an ironing board in front of said standard, a tubular track extending horizontally in the standard above the ironing board, a shaft extending longitudinally in said track and rotatably mounted by discs eccentric to the shaft, a hanger carried by said shaftand shiftable along the same, a carriage slidable along said track, an iron carrying arm pivoted to said carriage and pivoted to said hanger, said arm projecting from the standard over the ironing board, a rocker arm extending vertically in said standard and pivotally mounted at its lower end, the upper end of the rocker arm being pivotally and slidably connected with the carriage for reciprocating the arm when the rocker arm is moved, a rod extending vertically in said standard and having its upper end connected with said'shaft for imparting rotation to the shaft and discs to vertically adjust the shaft and hanger and move the outer end of the arm toward and away from'the ironing board, fluid actuated means for controlling movements of the rod and rocker arm, and means for controlling operation of the fluid actuated means and individually imparting movements to the rod and rocker arm and regulating extent of the movement.

9, In an ironing machine, a standard, an ironing board in front of said standard, a tubular track. extending horizontally'in the standard above the ironing board, a shaft extending lngitudinally in said track and rotatably mounted by discs eccentric to the shaft, a hanger carried by said shaft and shiftable along the same, a carriage slidable along said track, an iron carrying arm pivoted to said carriage and pivoted to said hanger, said arm projecting from the standard over the ironing board, means for imparting reciprocating movement to the carriage and iron carrying arm having fluid actuated actuating means adapted to regulate the extent of movement imparted to the arm, and means for rotating the shaft and discs to vertically adjust the hanger and arm and shift an iron carried by the arm toward and away from the ironing board having fluid actuated actuating means.

10. In an ironing machine, a standard, an ironing board in front of said standard, a track extending horizontally in said standard, a shaft extending longitudinally of said track, a carriage the ironing board, cylinders in said standard,

pistons in said cylinders connected with the rod and the rocker bar for actuating the same when the pistons are moved, valves associated with said cylinders, a pump having a pipe leading therefrom to said valves, and means for individually adjusting said valves.

11. In an ironing machine, a standard, an ironing board in front of said standard, a track extending horizontally in said standard, a shaft ex tending longitudinally of said track, a carriage slidable along said track, an iron carrying arm pivoted to said carriage and suspended from said shaft and shiftable longitudinally of the track with said carriage, a rocker bar extending vertically in said standard with its upper end engaging the carriage and its lower end pivotally mounted, a rod shiftable vertically in said standard for adjusting the position of said shaft and moving an iron carried by the arm toward and away from the ironing board, cylinders in said standard, pistons in said cylinders connected with the rod and the rocker bar for actuating the same when the pistons are moved, valves associated with said cylinders, a pump having a pipe leading therefrom to said valves, manually controlled means for adjusting said valves, and means actuated by the rocker bar for adjusting the valve of the cylinder having the piston connected with the rocker bar.

' 12. In an ironing machine, a standard, an ironing board in front of said standard, a track extending horizontally in said standard, a shaft extending longitudinally of said track, a carriage slidable along said track, an iron carrying arm pivoted to said carriage and suspended from said shaft and shiftable longitudinally of the track with said carriage, a rocker bar extending vertically in said standard with its upper end engaging the carriage and its lower end pivotally mounted, a rod shiftable vertically in said standard for adjusting the position of said shaft and moving an iron carried by the arm toward and away from the ironing board, cylinders in said standard, pistons in said cylinders connected with the rod and the rocker bar for actuating the same when the pistons are moved, valves associated with said cylinders, a pump having a pipe leading therefrom to said valves, handles for said valves, rods pivoted to the handles and depending therefrom, a lever extending horizontally in the lower portion of said standard and pivotally mounted intermediate its length, the inner end of said lever being pivoted to the lower end of one rod, a plunger slidable vertically and yieldably held in a raised position, the outer end of said rod being pivoted to the upper end of said plunger, a pedal pivoted to the upper end of said plunger, and a link extending horizontally in the lower portion of the standard with its outer end rigidly fixed to the pedal and its inner end pivoted to the lower end of the other rod.

13. In an ironing machine, a standard, an ironing board in front of said standard, a track extending horizontally in said standard, a shaft extending longitudinally of said track, a carriage slidable along said track, an iron carrying arm pivoted to said carriage and suspended from said shaft and shiftable longitudinally of the track with said carriage, a rocker bar extending vertically in said standard with its upper end engaging the carriage and its lower end pivotally mounted, a rod shiftable vertically in said standard for adjusting the position of said shaft and moving an iron carried by the arm toward and away from the ironing board, cylinders in said standard, pistons in said cylinders connected with the rod and the rocker bar for actuating the same when the pistons are moved, valves associated with said cylinders, a pump having'a pipe leading therefrom to said valves, handles for said valves, rods pivoted to the handles and depending therefrom, manually operated means connected with said rods for individually adjusting the valves, a lever pivotally mounted at the lower end of said rocker bar, a link connecting said lever with the handle of the valve associated with the cylinder having its piston connected with the rocker bar, lugs carried by said lever, and a finger carried by the rocker bar for engaging the lugs and effect- 20 ing automatic adjustment of the valve when the rocker bar is in motion.

CLAUDE A. PICKENS, 

